Are You Storm Ready?

The City of Goleta is preparing for an “El Niño” season this fall and winter. Weather forecasters are expecting that Southern California, including the Central Coast, will face one of the most severe El Niños.

What is El Niño?

The term El Niño refers to the weather pattern linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across large parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Typical El Niño effects are likely to develop over North America during the upcoming winter season. Those include warmer-than-average temperatures over western and central Canada, and over the western and northern United States. Forecasters predict a strong possibility of increased rain as a result.

What can you do to prepare?

Know your Flood Risk!

Protecting yourself today means having sources for information, preparing your home or workplace, developing an emergency communications plan, and knowing what to do when a flood is approaching your home or business. Taking action today can save lives and property!

Learn whether you live, work or travel through areas that are prone to flooding. To help communities understand their risk of flooding, FEMA creates flood maps to show the locations of high-risk, moderate-to-low-risk, and undetermined risk areas. Consider purchasing flood insurance if you are in a flood plain. To check your flood risk, go to www.FloodSmart.gov.

Flood Insurance – Purchasing flood insurance provides financial protection for the cost of repairs due to flood damage. Standard insurance policies do not cover flooding, but flood insurance is available for homeowners, renters and business owners through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Stay Informed!

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will release updated floor maps that show new changes in some areas in our community. With the release of the new maps, some property owners will learn that their risk is higher or lower than they thought. Be sure to check www.FloodSmart.gov for more information.

Have important City and County contact numbers close at hand. Click on the link below for a summary of contact numbers and a list of other local resources that will help you prepare for the rainy season.

Make or update your emergency kit including important documents, medication and emergency contact information.

The City of Goleta offers community training and education opportunities on emergency preparedness. For more information, click here.

Think about how you will stay informed if there is a power outage. Have extra batteries for a battery-operated radio and your cell phone. Consider having a hand crank radio or cell phone charger.

Know your evacuation routes, plan your transportation and a place to stay. The safest way to survive a flood is to evacuate the area if advised to leave. To ensure that you will be able to act quickly should the need arise, you need to plan ahead.

Important Information

Sandbag Information – As in past years, the City of Goleta will coordinate with County of Santa Barbara Flood Control to have sandbags available at Fire Station 14 located at 320 Los Carneros Road.